Born in Sialkot, Bilal Asif made his first-class debut in 2011 at the age of 26 and only played 11 matches in his first four seasons. He had success only in 2014-15, when he played six matches and scored 310 runs, including a maiden hundred. He had begun his career during Pakistan's isolation as an international and was first seen on screen during the Super9 T20 Cup in May 2015, when he scored a 48-ball hundred.

Asif caught the eye of the national selectors for not just his batting - he is not the most technically-sound batsman - but also his ability to bowl offspin, at a time when Pakistan had lost Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez to suspect actions. He took nine wickets in the national T20 tournament in Rawalpindi. Asif was selected for Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka in 2015 but made his debut only during the ODI series in Zimbabwe in October. He took a five-for in his second ODI against Zimbabwe but was reported for a suspect action after the game.Umar Farooq